Saturday, July 02, 2016

Jürgen Habermas and the European Economic CrisisCosmopolitanism ReconsideredEd. Gaspare M. Genna, Thomas O. Haakenson & Ian W. Wilson(Routledge, 2016)224 pagesDescriptionThe European Union entered into an economic crisis in late 2009 that was sparked by bank bailouts and led to large, unsustainable, sovereign debt. The crisis was European in scale, but hit some countries in the Eurozone harder than others. Despite the plethora of writings devoted to the economic crisis in Europe, present understandings of how the political decisions would influence the integration project continue to remain vague. What does it actually mean to be European? Is Europe still a collection of peoples that rallied together during good times and then retreat to nationalism when challenges appear? Or has Europe adopted a common identity that would foster solidarity during hard times?This book provides its reader with a fresh perspective on the importance identity has on the functioning of the European Union as exemplified in Jürgen Habermas’ seminal text, ‘The Crisis of the European Union: A Response’. Rather than exploring the causes of the crisis, the contributors examine the current state of European identity to determine the likelihood of implementing Habermas’ suggestions.Contents [preview]Introduction - Gaspare M. Genna & Ian W. WilsonPart I: Foundations1. Democracy as Ideal and Practice: Historicizing The Crisis of the European Union - Christian Bailey2. Habermas on Human Dignity as the Origin of Human Rights and Egalitarian, Utopian Thinking - Jennifer FredettePart II: Values3. Cosmopolitanism, Trust, and Support for European Integration - Gaspare M. Genna4. European Reform from the Bottom Up? The Presence and Effects of Cosmopolitan Values in Germany - Aubrey WestfallPart III: Tools5. Reason, Faith, and Europe: Two German Perspectives What is Europe? -James M. Skidmore6. Cosmopolitan Reflections: Jürgen Habermas and W. G. Sebald - Ian W. WilsonPart IV: Institutions7. Educating the European Union: Internationalization through Integration - Thomas O. Haakenson8. European Integration and Economic Interests - Marcella Myer9. Does German Austerity Travel? - David O. Rossbach10. On the Pouvoir Constituent of the European Union - Erik O. EriksenConclusion - Gaspare M. Genna & W. Wilson